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Starring
:
Stephen
Chow Sing Chi
Sandra
Ng
Shing
Fui On
Anthony
Chan
Anthony
Wong
Billy
Chow
Action
:
John
Cheung
Tony
Leung Siu Hung
Leung
Miu Hung
Producer
:
Anthony
Chan
Director
:
Anthony
Chan
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WHEN
FORTUNE SMILES (1990)
Reviewed
by Andrew Saroch
The
early 90's were to see Hong Kong star Chow Sing-Chi's stock go
through the roof as he firmly established himself as the undisputed
king of Cantonese comedy. This was achieved with a series of
box-office smashes; the 'God Of Gamblers'-pastiche 'All
For The Winner' and the action comedy 'Fight
Back To School' were foremost among these and both
featured in the final box-office charts of their respective
years. Before this huge success, the Canto-comic starred in a
number of serious roles and a handful of comic roles that
would finally give the hint of greater things to come. 'When
Fortune Smiles' presents the earlier comic persona of Chow
Sing-Chi in the role of arrogant protagonist turned good that
would later reappear in films like 'Tricky Brains' and 'God
Of Cookery'.
Tricky
Star (Chow Sing-Chi) specialises in simple cons and money
making scams to get by in life. One such trick - using a
vacuum cleaner to steal money from gambling tables in a
low-rent casino - lands him in serious trouble with a maniacal
gangster who has designs on parting Tricky Star from a part of
his body. However, the gangster hits upon a scheme to get the
inheritance of a will that he has been excluded from; the will
of a dying tycoon dictates that only his daughter will inherit
the considerable fortune with the rest of the money-grabbing
family excluded. Tricky Star is forced to infiltrate the home
of the desperate family and, after locating the will, change
it to the advantage of certain factions. What is already a
complicated situation is further confused when the shady son
of the tycoon discovers Phoenix (Ng) - a rubbish collector who
has an uncanny resemblance to the missing daughter. In an
equally dastardly scheme, Phoenix is hired to impersonate the
missing daughter and get the contents of the will. She soon
discovers that her good-nature is at total odds with the
atmosphere around her and that the only real friend she can
rely on is Tricky Star; naturally, this friendship soon turns
into love between the two. The culmination of these events
sees the son get his hatch a plot to get rid of the entire
family and escape with the money - but he doesn't count on
Tricky Star who is in hot pursuit.
Chow
Sing-Chi slots straight into his role as Tricky Star with
clear indication of the character who he would play in the
future with great success. The combination of dead-pan
delivery and sudden rubber-faced antics is on good show in
'When Fortune Smiles' as there are enough situations for him
to show his comedic talents off. With actors like Anthony Wong
and Shing Fui On to play off, this is performed with ease. A
pleasant surprise comes in the shape of Sandra Ng's delightful
turn as Phoenix, combining a sweet-nature with an encouraging naivety.
This performance is quite different from some off the
loud-mouth comic roles that constituted the body of her early
work. Good performances do not answer the question of whether
or not this comedy is hilarious or not though. The answer is
that 'When Fortune Smiles' is a funny Chow Sing-Chi comedy
that never quite reaches anything more substantial or more
uproarious. There are some excellent moments - namely the
final battle between Chow Sing-Chi and supervillain Billy Chow
- but the gaps between strong laughs is longer than it should
be. Chow's brand of comedy can be challenging to a non-Chinese
audience, but there are jokes that break through the language
barrier and raise a chuckle - the film therefore remains
entertaining throughout its duration. Although this film is
not his very best, it is still worth watching for Hong Kong
newcomers and is a definite recommendation for Chow Sing-Chi
completists.
Rating:
 
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